


Book Boys & Balding

by OldEmeraldEye, whozdatEire



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bickering, Hogwarts Library, Improv, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Sirius/Remus if you squint, Slice of Life, Teacher's Pet Remus Lupin, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:01:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29289513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldEmeraldEye/pseuds/OldEmeraldEye, https://archiveofourown.org/users/whozdatEire/pseuds/whozdatEire
Summary: He should go find Remus, Sirius decides.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin





	Book Boys & Balding

It was a dark and stormy night at Hogwarts - or at least, close enough to dark to count as night, with the roiling cover of clouds blocking out any celestial light thick enough to count as a storm, if you weren't particularly familiar with storms. It often was, because Hogwarts was in Scotland, and Scotland got weather London wouldn't dream of, all the time. Lamps and fireplaces lit common-rooms and most hallways, with lumos charms aplenty in flagrant disregard of the no magic in the corridors rule.

On this particular dark and stormy night - or mid-afternoon, as the case may be - Remus Lupin was sitting in the library, studying his way ahead of schedule as he so often did, his head buried in mountains of parchment and splatters of ink staining his fingertips. He had spent the last week there, ever since storm front rolled in and failed to storm. Hallways and commonrooms were thick with tension of hundreds of teenagers trapped indoor with nothing but schoolwork to distract them.

There was no moon in the sky, not that a moon could be seen through the clouds. Still, Sirius thought, he ought to brave Madame P's wrath and check on the most studious of the Marauders. Remus had missed lunch. Again. Needed the food more than most, with his furry little problem.

Strolling through the towering bookshelves of the library, so numerous that they formed a forest of their own, he followed the sound of Remus muttering incessantly to himself. It was a sound as familiar to him as his mother's screeching after years of sharing the same dorm. Comforting, in a way.

"You known that talking to yourself is a sign of early hair-loss?" he said, swinging around the corner and into the small study area.

"What?" said the second year Hufflepuff sitting there. Small thing, as all first - and now second - years were, with a mop of curly hair that made picking out their gender difficult, and utterly dwarfed by the huge, unabridged tome of ... he blinked mentally, the interactions between magical flora and fauna in the coastal region of the British Isles. Had been a hatstall, he vaguely recalled.

"Hair-loss," Sirius repeated, unwilling to back down or show he'd made a mistake as simple as speaking to the wrong person, "it's a terrible thing for a preteen, adults can claim a potions accident, but you - look, you've got a growing bald-spot already."

The Hufflepuff - and a puff they are - slowly blinks, then their mouth closes and (tiny) hands came up to pat at head. Not the best off the cuff blather he'd ever managed, but trick was to keep going so they didn't have time to start poking holes. By the time he got away, mop here would be filling in the blanks for him.

“Figgy’s in a terrible state, just the same problem.” Swung himself onto corner of table, leaning in conspiratorially.

“Now, what you have to do is take - that shop in Hogsmeade, the one by Zonkos, it's got great stuff,” he rambled as he backtracked. He couldn't bring himself to pick on a _Hufflepuff._ “Even Dumbledore goes there, swear it on his beard.”

“And a magnificent beard it is too,” he finished, drifting off into a daydream of the day when he too would have such a beard. Sirius Black, the Magnificent. No, Lord Sirius Black, the first dragonrider since -

“Are you harassing the firsties again,” Remus interjected, holding five books and an entire parents’ worth of annoyance as he appeared from the isle.

Sirius grinned at his friend, and ran a hand through his hair in his most suave, _sure I didn't brush it but at least it's better than James's_ manner, "Why of _course_ not Moony. It was a second year this time. It’s called," he paused, searching for the muggle term, "character growth, didn’t you know."

“Just dropping some rubies of wisdom for when they get to Hogsmeade next year, you know, helping future generations look as fabulous as me.”

Remus gave him a small smile. On the surface it seem resigned - he'd mastered the _see what I am forced to put up with_ look no more than two weeks into their tenure - but Sirius could see the “Well since you’re so fabulous, how about you take these books and strut your way to McGonagall. She needs these for tomorrow."

“Strut? I don’t strut, I _saunter._ But since you asked so nicely, I’ll deliver these to Minnie with your compliments.”

The second year gasped, their drawing attention once more.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Sirius turned to Remus. “It’s past their bedtime isn’t it.”

“It’s three in the afternoon,” Remus sighed.

Sirius gave him a teasing look, “What’s your point Moony, ickle little second years won’t grow if they don’t get their rest.”

“And you won’t get to do anymore either if Pince catches you disturbing the library,” Remus returned, doing an admirable job of hiding his amusement. "Just think of all the innocent minds you’re corrupting away from the hallowed paths of learning.”

“Book learning,” Sirius retorted, stepping up to take the books. “I much prefer using my hands,” and he walked away, wriggling his eyebrows like a pair of discotheque caterpillars.

Right into Ms.Pince, coming round the corner like the ghost of a bat. Today was not his day for corners, it seemed. “No quidditch in my library, or you’ll- “

Remus barked a laugh, interrupting her - he was the only one Sirius has seen do that and live to tell the tale - and smacked Sirius on the back of the head, _ow_ , “How’s that for hands on learning.” Insufferable. Completely insufferable. Sirius had no idea why he kept him around.

He apologized to Pince with his prefect smile on his face, his well crafted mask firmly in place, that got his friends out of so much trouble. Maybe Remus had _some_ uses after all. Not looking after himself, but still.

“Just so happy to return the books that Remus borrowed from Prof. McGonagall so that Remus could spend a little extra time tutoring the younger years,” Sirius chimed in before he was shooed away, least he managed to botch the job. The excuse or delivery, it didn't really matter.

The younger year looked as unconvinced as Madame Pince, but Remus was good for it really, and Charms essays are excellent revision. As Sirius sauntered away, Remus settled in for his fifth impromptu tutoring slash diversion session of the week. At the rate he was going, he may as well start making inquiries about the possibilities of assistant professor posts, once he graduated.


End file.
